The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity

The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
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Bringing Secular Reasoning to Christianity

True to its title

Every Molecule in My Being Was Stirred!

Excellent with some minor flaws

Did Nothing to Restore My Faith

The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
Lee Strobel
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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More Than a Carpenter

ASIN: 0310234697

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Award-winning reporter and author Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ) once again uses his investigative skills to address the primary objections to Christianity. As a former atheist, Strobel understands the rational resistance to faith. He even names the eight most convincing arguments against Christian faith:

1) If there's a loving God, why does this pain-wracked world groan under so much suffering and evil?
2) If the miracles of God contradict science, then how can any rational person believe that they're true?
3) If God is morally pure, how can he sanction the slaughter of innocent children as the Old Testament says he did?
4) If God cares about the people he created, how could he consign so many of them to an eternity of torture in hell just because they didn't believe the right things about him?
5) If Jesus is the only way to heaven, then what about the millions of people who have never heard of him?
6) If God really created the universe, why does the evidence of science compel so many to conclude that the unguided process of evolution accounts for life?
7) If God is the ultimate overseer of the church, why has it been rife with hypocrisy and brutality throughout the ages?
8) If I'm still plagued by doubts, then is it still possible to be a Christian?

These are mighty tough questions, and Strobel fields them well. Rather than write a weighty dissertation about the merits of faith, he brings us along on his quest as we meet leaders in the Christian community, such as Peter Kreeft and William Lane Craig. We also encounter his everyday friends and acquaintances that serendipitously fill in the holes in each of the eight arguments against faith. The use of dialogue from personal interviews and a scene-by-scene active narrative makes this an easy and engaging read. However, easy does not mean breezy. This is a book of substance and merit, one that will help Christians defend their faith, especially during the hardest of times, when they have to defend their faith to themselves in moments of doubt. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

This eagerly anticipated sequel to Lee Strobel’s best-selling The Case for Christ finds the author investigating the nettlesome issues and doubts of the heart that threaten faith. Eight major topics are addressed including doubt, the problem of pain, and the existence of evil.

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Bringing Secular Reasoning to Christianity.......2007-10-19

I want to show some grace here in this review so that I am not coming across as attacking the author or the participants that the author interviewed. I read The Case for Christ and very much enjoyed that book and thought it was done in a very tasteful manner, but this book left me shaking my head.

Lee Strobel unpacks this book just as he did with the Case for Christ, in that, he has 8 different questions that he would like answered and then goes and interviews 8 experts in those fields to answer those questions. The one thing I wish that he would have done is read some of the reviews and thoughts from readers and taken them to heart. The main complaint is that he just interviewed those who agreed with the Christian position and chose not to interact with those who were on the opposed side of the debate.

Although Strobel starts the book off on interviewing an atheist, Charles Templeton, this was the last time that he interviews anyone on the opposing side. Although, I do really like the way the book is set up with the interviewing process.

The questions that were to be raised in the book are the following:

1) If there's a loving God, why does this pain-wracked world groan under so much suffering and evil?

2) If the miracles of God contradict science, then how can any rational person believe that they're true?

3) If God is morally pure, how can he sanction the slaughter of innocent children as the Old Testament says he did?

4) If God cares about the people he created, how could he consign so many of them to an eternity of torture in hell just because they didn't believe the right things about him?

5) If Jesus is the only way to heaven, then what about the millions of people who have never heard of him?

6) If God really created the universe, why does the evidence of science compel so many to conclude that the unguided process of evolution accounts for life?

7) If God is the ultimate overseer of the church, why has it been rife with hypocrisy and brutality throughout the ages?

8) If I'm still plagued by doubts, then is it still possible to be a Christian?

Strobel, to answer these questions, goes to eight different men to help him answer these tough questions posed to the Christian faith. Some of those interviewed were Norman Geisler, William Lane Craig, Peter Kreeft, Ravi Zacharias, John Woodbridge and others.

We could always discuss the theological differences that I have between myself and the contributors, such as their views on libertarian free will, the views that hell is not a literal place with flames, the view that the big bang is true and God was the originator just 'tweaked' it to make it work, that God reacted to man and created hell, but it wasn't in His original plan, and so on. These are all things that contributed to a very poor discussion on the reason for faith. But, even above all these problems, Strobel forgets the biggest reason for faith in God and Jesus Christ: our sin.

Sin was completely left out of the discussion. This topic of us needing a Creator and Saviour to take our place of our sin was not in any of the discussions. The route that Strobel takes is more of a route in putting us in a court room. The atheists and agnostics as the prosecutors, God as the defendant and we are the jurors. We sit, listen, weigh the evidence and then choose who to follow. The problem is that this leaves God as a powerless being, ringing His hands, hoping we choose him. This is not faith! This is just choosing the lesser of the two evils, or the better of the two goods, depending on how you see it.

This book is really a bad attempt at presenting the true God. It really leans more towards Aristotlianism, where "reason governs us" instead of what we are told it should be: God and His word governs us. I am afraid that the bad theology presented here is not going to strengthen anyone's faith but in actuality, will make them rely on their intellect and thoughts on the issue. This is actually the reason that Strobel is able to bring in a Roman Catholic theologian (Peter Kreeft) and no have no issue with his thoughts on issues. Strobel really doesn't differentiate between the Catholics and Protestants but just merely continues to call them both "Christians." Ignoring the reformation or the Pope calling the Catholic church, "the only true church." (sidenote: I know this book was written before this declaration, but it was not a new declaration or something Protestants and Catholics didn't already know was the foundational thoughts of the Roman Catholic church)

Anyone who takes a long look at themselves will know that they change their minds on things all the time. They change their views on things all the time, so what is going to be different this time? The main proponent of faith was left out: Jesus Christ died for the sins of the people, the Holy Spirit gives them faith, calls them to His side, God justifies them with the blood of Christ, and perfects them until the day Christ returns. It is God's power that holds us, not our "weighing of evidence."
This is the reason I cannot recommend this book to anyone. It seems as though Strobel has placed God on the side of the road trying to "sell" His religion to people and hoping some will just choose Him. God is not a beggar.

One contributor said this: "God sends no one to heaven and He sends no one to hell" Although I agree that sin is what sends people to hell, it is not true that God doesn't send anyone to heaven. He is the only power that is able to send people to heaven.

It seems as though this book missed some key verses in the Bible:

For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.
2 Corinthians 13:4

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:44

Most important Paul lays out the importance of the Gospel, not secular reasoning or secular evidence for the case for faith:

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:2-5

True to its title.......2007-09-28

For those wishing to find answers to troublesome questions about their faith, this book is excellent.

For those who are seriously investigating the issue of faith, this book presents some interesting arguments, but is of course very one-sided. Compared to a trial, it's like hearing the examination of witnesses without any cross-examination by opposing counsel. As such, it's true to it's title: it's the case for faith, not a balanced "faith on trial".

Some of the arguments are excellent, others are laughable. For example, the discussion of Hell should be very reassuring to many who have difficulty harmonizing that with a merciful and loving God. On the other hand, J. P. Moreland, an intelligent and highly educated man, says of sociobiology that it reduces morality to a happenstance outcome of evolution. This betrays profound ignorance of sociobiology, which discusses the "moral sense" but not morality (values being a subject for philosophy rather than science). The distinction undermines his argument, but the reader gets no clue about such fallacies.

Every Molecule in My Being Was Stirred!.......2007-09-19

I just finished this book. My faith was given such an electrified and energized jolt that I am left exhilarated and flabbergasted. The author goes into DEEP detail (so make sure you have the mental energy to really absorb some major information) and he PROVES 100% that GOD exists! You will not be able to argue any differently; I guarantee it!

Carrie Lynn Jones
Author of: It All Began... When Jesus Gave Me Sneakers

Excellent with some minor flaws.......2007-08-31

In many ways, this is a wonderful book. The questions that he addresses are really the questions being asked; if you witness to non-believers, count on being asked them at some point. It's becoming more and more necessary these days for Christians to be able to answer these objections, especially in light of postmodernism, the "New Atheists," the aggressive promotion of Darwinism (and censorship of those who disagree), the absolute pervasiveness of secular humanism in the education system, etc.

I would absolutely recommend reading these before you go to college, if not sooner - as a current college senior (graduating in 2008), let me tell you that it is essential that you know how to answer these objections, especially if you go to a secular university. Tragically, many people don't really know how to do that and end up abandoning their faith in college as a result.

I once heard a story of a little boy who was asked what faith was and replied that "faith is believing something you know isn't true." Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to agree; this book shows that that sentiment is wrong. Faith is neither blind nor irrational. Strobel here isn't so much concerned with making a positive case for Christianity as he is for defending it against the major objections. Therefore the primary focus of the book is refuting the "Big 8" objections to Christianity (like "why would a God of love allow suffering if it was in His power to stop it?", "isn't it prejudiced to claim that Christianity is the only true religion?" or "isn't eternal punishment in hell unjust?").

The answers to these objections are informative and thought-provoking. There's definitely a lot of helpful material there. The chapters on evolution (chapter 3), the slaughter of the innocents (chapter 4), and the exclusivity of Jesus (chapter 5) were particularly strong. The chapter on suffering and hell were also very thought provoking, although I thought that they relied far too heavily on the free will argument, which I found disappointing as a Calvinist. I wish that the chapter on suffering discussed the Fall of Man more. The only chapter I thought was weak was the chapter on violence in church history; I really thought more could have been done with the topic.

Overall, in spite of some flaws (as I pointed out, I think it tends to rely too much on the free will defense), this is a very good book.

Even if - or especially if - you're not a Christian, I challenge you to read this book. See for yourself if Christianity can really answer its critics.

For you Christians out there, this book is a great witnessing tool. It can help you witness more effectively to non-Christians. It's also a great thing to give to non-Christians. Read it yourself too - it will strengthen your faith. As I said before, if you're in school, this is an absolute must-read, especially if you're about to go to college; this is one book you cannot go without reading, especially if you're going to a secular university. Chances are you WILL be confronted with the objections in this book, especially since so many of our universities are so pervasively secular these days. I can't help but think that a lot of people who left the faith in college might not have left if they had read this book before going.

This book is strongly recommended.

Did Nothing to Restore My Faith.......2007-08-30

Since the premature death of my mother, I have had a crises of faith. I became an agnostic (not overnight, but after a long perod of reflection). I bought and read numerous books about God, religion etc. This book did nothing but make me angry. Supposedly I am supposed to kow tow to a deity who slaughters innocents for a "greater good."

All of the explanations about the problem of evil are circular and rely on biblical testimony. The Bible was written by Men and NOT by God. It is not infallible. Strobel cherry-picks the Bible--choosing what is to be taken literally and what is a metaphor for something else. If I were to believe even SOME of the Bible, I would have to conclude that God is at least partially evil in nature.

I also have to say that the analogy of the bear in the hunter's trap is the most pathetic thing I have read in a long time.

I can punch holes through all of the arguments presented in this book.

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Redemption and mercy are the base case for faith
Excellent Overview of 8 Obstacles to Faith in Christ
AWESOME!!!
Thought-Provoking Topics for Group Study
Strobel writes another winner

Case for Faith, The (six pack)
Lee Strobel
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 031023509X

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This eagerly anticipated sequel to Lee Strobel?s best-selling The Case for Christ finds the author investigating the nettlesome issues and doubts of the heart that threaten faith. Eight major topics are addressed including doubt, the problem of pain, and the existence of evil.

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Redemption and mercy are the base case for faith.......2007-09-14

Moreland says, "In the bible, hell is separation or banishment from the beautiful being in the world-God himself. It is exclusion from anything that matters, from all value, not only from God but also from those who have come to know and love him." "Its not torture. The punishment of hell is separation from God, bring shame, anguish, and regret. And because we will have both body and soul in the resurrected state, the misery experienced can be both mental and physical."

>>Hell is painful and prior to resurrection: The part of the spirit world inhabited by the spirits of the wicked is called hell or spirit prison. In hell there is weeping and wailing and nashing of teeth.; there the fiery indigination of the wrath of God is poured out upon the wicked. D&C 19: 5. Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth,yea, to those who are found on my left hand. 6. Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. Hell is painful.

John saw that "death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works." Rev 20:13. Spiritual death is hell. David plead with the Lord not to leave his soul in hell.

>>Mercy: After the resurrection the majority of those that suffered in hell or spirit prison will pass into the telestial kingdom, "these are they who are thrust down to hell. A strong case for faith is that most of God's children will receive an inheritance in a Kingdom of Glory with various degrees, as the sands of the sea. Secondly, these souls will be helped to understand and accept their inheritance by terrestrial beings. This is mercy and telestial beings will not be in pain throughout eternity.

>>Justice and the consequence of wickness: These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work...These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fullness of times." D&C 76:84-85. Those in hell will not be resurrected and judged until after the millennium, punishment for lack of valiancy.

Moreland confuses hell as the final state of man, saying, "hell is the final sentence that says you refused regularly to live for the purpose for which you were made, and the only alternative is to sentence you away for all eternity." Hell in this context has finality, endless punishment, and without redemption.

>>Who goes to hell? Those that live a telestial law; the carnal, sensual, devilish, materialistic oriented, sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers, "those that oppress the hireling in his wages", and whoremongers; all nations that forget God; those that oppress the people of God, his covenant people; all those that preach false doctrine; the sectarian world. One of the snares or wiles of the devil is to convince men that there is no hell. Christ holds the keys of hell and can therefore control them and has the power to save and redeem man from hell, on conditions of repentance and obedience. "Justice and judgment are the habitation of they throne; mercy and truth shall go before thy face" ps. 8914. God has many laws. We made promises to God before our mortality. If we break those commandments and promise we will be in hell.

"Is hell a physical place?" Moreland says, "hell is probably not a location, but it's a real part of the universe. It's like you go though a door into another kind of existence." "We know that the reference to flames is figurative because if you try to take it literally, it makes no sense. For example, hell is described as a place of utter darkness and yet there are flames, too. How can that be? Flames would light things up."

>>Repentance: Once a person realize their fallen state, they are brought to a knowledge of their awful state where the demands of justice have full claim upon the creature; in the moment of humility the person sees their nothingness before God and cries mightily for the saving power of Jesus Christ. The best case for Faith is the personal experience of being ransomed by Jesus Christ from eternal pain and punishment, to sing the endless songs of praise, to the Lord and Master. Jesus Christ atoned for all mans sins providing the way to escape death and sin. The gift of the resurrection is a free gift for all men. The atonement or forgiveness of sin is conditional upon repentance and obedience to the laws of God. The Book of Mormon demonstrates numerous occasions where the Lord's prophets exposed secret combinations calling the gadianton robbers to repentance. The gadianton robbers lead to numerous civilization collapses, yet the Lord's servants cried repentance. The destruction of the wicked is not a pleasure for the Lord. Justice must be served and the wicked ripe before destruction. If the wild fruit repents and becomes tame, the Lord of the vineyard rejoices, the parable of the prodigal son. D&C 19: 15. Therefore I command you to repent-repent,lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore-how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea how hard to bear you know not. 16. For behold, I God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they repent; 17. But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; 18. Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirt-and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink. 19. Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

>>Children under the age of accountability are not set too hell. The atonement extends grace to children and they do not go to hell, a false doctrine considered to be abominable to the Lord.

>>People will not be punished infinitely for finite crimes. If a person does not repent and become clean through Jesus Christ in this life, they will have to atone for their sins an suffer as Christ suffered which cause him to bleed at every pore. Sin is painful and mercy is joyful.

>>The principle of free agency was the nexus argument in the war in Heaven. A third chose not to follow God's laws and cast into outer darkness. Man was spirit and received a tabernacle of clay or a mortal body, as a result of keeping his first estate. We experience pain, sorrow, and suffering in mortality; but we gain confidence and comfort through the Lord's spirit because he suffered all things and can succor us. Abr 3:27. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. 28. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.

>>Hindu's believe in hell.

>>Could have God forced out all the wicked who would come to earth? Not possible. However, God selected great and noble spirits as, a Grand Council in Heaven, as the inner circle.

Excellent Overview of 8 Obstacles to Faith in Christ.......2007-04-07

I have been a believer in Christ now for over 20 years. Recently, I encountered a season in my life where I wanted to gain a better understanding of what I believe, why I believe, and why others choose not to believe. I found what I was looking for in Lee Strobel's fine apologetic treatment of the subject of faith. I thoroughly enjoyed the structure and flow of this book as Lee introduces the reader to various scholars and experts who have spent decades and staked their careers on such difficult topics as the existence and purpose of hell, why bad things are aloud to happen, Jesus as the only way to eternal life, a tainted Church history (Inquisition, Salem Witch Trials), etc. Each chapter ends with discussion topics and additional resources for further study. I recommend this book for all believers and non-believers who are searching for an excellent overview of some of the most difficult obstacles to faith in Christ.

AWESOME!!!.......2007-03-21

This book is VERY outstanding! It definately covers topics that every christian wishes to understand. If you are doubting or seeking to find God or just want to know solid cases to have a faith or start one, I would recommend this book! Infact I would recomment it to ANYONE! Very good for people who think christians are ignorant delusional idiots :)

Thought-Provoking Topics for Group Study.......2006-11-02

I purchased this book for our small group study after previously reading Stroebel's The Case for Christ. Strobel holds a Master of Studies in Law from Yale, was a journalist and former legal editor for the Chicago Tribune. The Case for Christ documented Stroebel's journey from atheist to Christian. In this book, Stroebel addresses the most common issues or objections expressed by non-believers toward the Christian faith. We selected this book because it deals with issues that are also troublesome topics for Jesus-followers. Stroebel lays each objection out and then, in the style of an investigative reporter he lays out the objections, taking the devil's advocate approach. Each objection is addressed by a different scholar, whom Stroebel introduces with a brief description of their educational background, publications and notable positions held in various religious and secular institutions. Although our group didn't always agree with the "defense" Stroebel's scholars presented for each objection, we found the topics to be thought-provoking and each stimulated a good discussion. As Christians, we wanted to to better understand and address our own faith struggles over these issues (evil & suffering, miracles vs science, evolution, ugly church history, etc.) This book is good for use in a discussion-oriented group study, but it is not your typical fill-in-the-blank "bible study" guide. The group needs to read each chapter (which are pretty long) before the study and you need someone who can prepare for and lead the discussion.

Strobel writes another winner.......2006-09-26

Lee Strobel is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. His honesty and objectivity comes through in this book in which he turns his journalist instincts and questions to those who profess to have faith. Faith is often erroneously defined as belief without evidence. As Strobel shows in his interviews, nothing could be further from the truth. "Faith is the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld," which is the definition that the Bible gives and the definition that I agree with. Faith is not mere credulity as skeptics would like to believe. Strobel himself is a former atheist who coverted to Christianity. This gives his work credibility, I feel, due to the fact that he once asked these questions and--unlike many skeptics today--actively looked for the answers. Logic and reasonableness are found in the Bible and anyone who wants information regarding why people have faith should read this book with an open mind and a sincere heart.

The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity / Prepack of 6

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The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity / Prepack of 6
Lee Strobel
Manufacturer: Zondervan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God
The Case for Christ : A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
Case for Faith, The (six pack)
The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity

ASIN: 0310247918

2 Book Set By Lee Strobel; the Case for Christ" a Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus; the Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity

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2 Book Set By Lee Strobel; the Case for Christ" a Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus; the Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
Lee Strobel
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Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WU2RTK

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2 Book Set By Lee Strobel; the Case for Christ" a Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus; the Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity.

The Case for Faith - A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity

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The Case for Faith - A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
Lee Strobel
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God
Case for Christ, The

ASIN: 0310239931

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In The Case for Faith, Strobel turns his skills to the most persistent emotional objections to belief--the eight "heart" barriers to faith. The Case for Faith is for those who may be feeling attracted to Jesus but who are faced with intellectual barriers standing squarely in their path. For Christians, it will deepen their convictions and give them fresh confidence in discussing Christianity with even their most skeptical friends.

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The Case for Faith : A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
Lee Strobel
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Case for Faith, the - MM for Fcs: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity

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Case for Faith, the - MM for Fcs: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
Lee Strobel
Manufacturer: Zondervan Publishing Company
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Case for Faith, Student Edition (5 Pack) (Ys): A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity

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Case for Faith, Student Edition (5 Pack) (Ys): A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
Zondervan Publishing
Manufacturer: Zondervan Publishing Company
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Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0310647371

Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege
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What it is really like

absolutely essential.

One of the Most Important Books You'll Ever Read about the Middle East!

Read this book first

Venomous

Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege
Amira Hass
Manufacturer: Owl Books
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Binding: Paperback

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In what is sure to be a controversial book, Israeli reporter Amira Hass offers a rare portrait of the Palestinians in Gaza. Very few journalists have lived in that troubled region; Jewish ones are rarer still. "To most Israelis," Hass writes, "my move seemed outlandish, even crazy, for they believed I was surely putting my life at risk." But Israelis desperately need to understand the plight of the Palestinian people, she writes, and few of them read the unvarnished truth in the Jerusalem press. This has made most of them ignorant of what goes on right next door, and inspired unduly "harsh" attitudes toward Gaza and its one million residents. Hass even quotes the late Yitzhak Rabin, who wished that Gaza "would just sink into the sea," shortly before he signed the Oslo Accords. Wishing away the problem, however, is no solution, and Hass delivers a detailed--and highly opinionated--diagnosis of what's wrong with Israeli policy toward Gaza. Strong supporters of Israeli will say that Hass is nothing but a mouthpiece for the Palestinians. Indeed, this book's subtitle could apply as much to Israel, surrounded by bitter enemies, as it does to Gaza. Yet it would be wrong to ignore Hass: the scene in Gaza is woefully unreported. The book is not likely to change many minds--this is one of those subjects where passions run deep and fierce. Those who already sympathize with Hass's pro-Palestinian views will find Drinking the Sea at Gaza an invigorating book. --John J. Miller

Book Description

In 1993, amira hass, a young Israeli reporter, drove to Gaza to cover a story-and stayed, the first journalist to live in the grim Palestinian enclave so feared and despised by most Israelis that, in the local idiom, "Go to Gaza" is another way to say "Go to hell." Now, in a work of calm power and painful clarity, Hass reflects on what she has seen in Gaza's gutted streets and destitute refugee camps.Drinking the Sea at Gaza maps the zones of ordinary Palestinian life. From her friends, Hass learns the secrets of slipping across sealed borders and stealing through night streets emptied by curfews. She shares Gaza's early euphoria over the peace process and its subsequent despair as hope gives way to unrelenting hardship. But even as Hass charts the griefs and humiliations of the Palestinians, she offers a remarkable portrait of a people not brutalized but eloquent, spiritually resilient, bleakly funny, and morally courageous.Full of testimonies and stories, facts and impressions, Drinking the Sea at Gaza makes an urgent claim on our humanity. Beautiful, haunting, and profound, it will stand with the great works of wartime reportage, from Michael Herr's Dispatches to Rian Malan's My Traitor's Heart.

Customer Reviews:

What it is really like.......2007-01-09

A very moving account of daily life without the politics, written with care and compassion.

absolutely essential........2006-08-22

I have spent the last summer reading numerous books on the Palestinian perspective of the MidEast crisis, and Hass' 'Drinking The Sea At Gaza' is perhaps the finest and most comprehensive account I have come across to date. Mixing the intellectual depth of Edward Said with the readability of Wendy Pearlman (of 'Occupied Voices'), Hass, in painstaking detail, recounts the daily struggle for Palestinian self-determination within the occupied territories, specifially Gaza, and reveals an intensely human drama not often revealed in the world press. This book is a must read, as are all of Hass' Ha'aretz (Israeli daily newspaper) articles on the conflict.

One of the Most Important Books You'll Ever Read about the Middle East!.......2006-07-14

Amira Hass is an Israeli Jewish reporter living in Gaza with the Palestinians. When I first read this book about a few years ago, I became fascinated by this woman not only an Israeli Jew but the daughter of Holocaust survivors and her life in Gaza of all places by her choice. Amira Hass helps us to understand the life in Gaza even as an outsider. She helps us to understand the Palestinians' life better than any other reporter or author. Of course, there is always politics and the war between Israel and Palestinans. But as of today where Gaza is under seige. You begin to feel compassion for both sides and wonder when will there ever be peace. It's interesting that the author is an atheist or agnostic. Believe me, the book is the worth the read and the price. For all it's worth, the book is probably important to read more than ever.

Read this book first.......2004-08-23

This book is as extraordinary and inspiring as its author. Hass is an Israeli, a Jew, a woman and an atheist who, uniquely in Israel, has chosen to live among the Palestinian people she writes about. To most people this would be as fatal a combination of attributes as could be imagined. Yet throughout her book she tells only of the warmth, generosity and acceptance she is offered, in a region regularly described as among the most dangerous on the planet.

Many of the best, most relentless and devastating critiques of Israel's colonialism come from Israelis, and none more so than Hass. The most powerful passages are where she likens the lot of the dispossessed in Gaza to the experiences of her own family, Holocaust victims and survivors, in being uprooted by the Nazis from their ancestral homes in Romania. It was her mother's account of the indifference on the faces of the German women who watched as she and the rest of the human cargo were herded from the cattle train en route to Bergen-Belsen that convinced Hass that "my place was not with the bystanders".

This book is no hagiography. She savages the Palestinian Authority leadership for their corruption and brutality (while giving it the necessary context of "a land under siege"). She meticulously documents the inferior position of women in Gaza - their exclusion from the few positions of authority, their lives of domestic drudgery while their unemployed husbands and brothers sit idly by.

Hass gives voice, humanity and a history to a people who live wretchedly on the doorstep of the homes and the lands from which they were expelled barely fifty years ago; who must now accept that neither their own leadership nor the world at large any longer insists on their right of return.

If you are thinking of buying Joan Peters's preposterous From Time Immemorial - a systematic denial of the Palestinians' history and identity, built on misused statistics and fraudulent records - read Drinking the Sea at Gaza first. Then save yourself the money.

Venomous.......2004-08-19

Amira Hass is to be commended for bravely moving to Gaza and writing a book about the people there.

However, this book isn't going to help people of Gaza.

One of the problems in Gaza is the Arab war against Jewish rights. This has poisoned relations among Jews and Arabs. Blaming all this on the Israel and thus promoting more of the same, as Hass does, is not good for anyone. Instead, it sabotages what could have been an effort to promote human rights for everyone in the region. Meanwhile, the author's bias against Israel makes the book unreliable.

Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege.(Review) (book review): An article from: Middle East Policy

Average customer rating:

Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege.(Review) (book review): An article from: Middle East Policy
Al J. Venter
Manufacturer: Middle East Policy Council
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008HBAOU
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Middle East Policy, published by Middle East Policy Council on June 1, 2000. The length of the article is 1633 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege.(Review) (book review)
Author: Al J. Venter
Publication: Middle East Policy (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2000
Publisher: Middle East Policy Council
Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Page: 191

Article Type: Book Review

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